We request consideration for a renewal of an interdisciplinary pre and postdoctoral training program, taking advantage of a long-standing intellectual environment enhanced by the Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC). New aspects include the addition of state of the art 25 Core Facilities, including an Affymetrix Gene Chip Core combined with a new Molecular Bioinformatics Analysis Core, a new building, The Genomic Research Institute (GR]), linked to a new Department of Genome Science from which gifted Postdoctoral Fellows recruited will be directed to this training program. A faculty of 26, that includes several new members, joins from 10 departments in the College of Medicine, the Vontz Center for Molecular Studies and the Children's Hospital Medical Center. The program continues to emphasize molecular, regulatory mechanisms of cardiac and lung function but a major emphasis is on a wide range of transgenic mouse cardiovascular disease models, including knock-out, knock-in, over expressed and cross-bred. We use in vivo instrumented animals, echo-analysis of conscious mice, ex vivo isolated organs, animals, and single cell electrophysiology. We do not give short shrift to """"""""traditional"""""""" physiology, pharmacology, and biochemistry but as applied to small animals. Areas include contractile proteins, membrane transport, ion channels, gene regulation of development, coagulation, homeobox gene targets, calcium homeostasis and dysfunction, embryogenesis using targeted gene engineering, surfactant protein structure-function and signaling pathways. The autonomic nervous system is a major incentive at the receptor level, proximal and distal signaling pathways particularly in disease-induced mouse models with correlations to human polymorphisms. Exposure to contemporary techniques and ideation are emphasized, but without sacrificing the history of creative discoveries that have led to an understanding of the CV system. Predoctoral fellows are selected from a wide pool arising from department programs, Institutes, Centers, a new """"""""Flex"""""""" program, a newly funded PSTP and a Short-Term Medical Student programs. Postdoctoral fellows arise from individual faculty, through the new GRI, and from direct WEB contacts, and selected by the Advisory Board and myself. Selection of mentors is based on research interests, irrespective of department affiliation. This Program """"""""links"""""""" the trainees from different disciplines to the CV system, through the weekly Fellow Research Club led by the PI, and by a series of myocardial biology lectures by the faculty. Recruitment of minority candidates is by a """"""""hands-on"""""""" approach by the PI and Executive Committee. Clinical correlates are stressed. A close preceptor-student relationship fostered by the PI is characteristic. We have been successful with our present six pre and six postdoctoral slots and despite an increasing number of candidates, we choose to remain with this formula.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 154 publications
